


belief

by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Rescue Mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 23:42:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20591072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/IronSwordStarShield
Summary: Anonymous asked for: steve and the avengers going with carol to rescue Tony, Steve is the first to get to him (hurt/comfort ahhh)





	belief

They find the source of the signal, the ship (the Benetar, Rocket had called it) twenty days after FRIDAY had first picked up the aforementioned signal. Steve spends most of the journey praying - praying its really Tony, praying they’re not too late, praying that they’re going to find more survivors (wherever they’re going to).

Twenty one days after Thanos, they spot the ship. She’s hanging in the middle of space, like an airplane model from the ceiling. Steve half expects to see a thread holding it up but there’s nothing. It just sits there, like a ghost ship. They try hailing it but no one answers. Natasha runs a quick scan and frowns at the results. “It looks like the ship is dead. But I’m picking up two life forms. Alive.”

Fuck. Just two. _Which _two? The question rattles around in his brain, shaking him to pieces and making him step up and say, “I’m going with you.” when Carol says she’ll go see who is onboard. Carol starts to argue but Steve points out that he’ll know if the people onboard are friendlies or not. The boarding team winds up being Steve, Carol, and Rocket.

Rocket and him put on their space suits and let Carol fly them to the ship. She flies them to the front of the ship but there’s no one at the controls. Their only option is for Rocket to forcibly open the cargo bay doors from the outside, which takes two minutes in total from start to finish and they’re standing inside a dark ship. They split up, Rocket heading towards the rooms in the back, Carol towards the lounge, and Steve towards the cockpit. 

It’s too quiet and too dark. Steve wants to say it reminds him of a graveyard but it’s worse. There’s still some life in a graveyard. This place is like an undisturbed tomb. He takes care to step as quietly as possible, not entirely sure why he does that. It feels respectful for some reason, to not disturb the little signs of life left behind in the ship. Soon enough, he finds himself in the cockpit.

Steve sweeps his flashlight in a wide arc over the bubble-shaped space before he starts checking the seats one by one. His heart’s in his shoes by the time he gets to the last seat, the main pilot’s seat, and finds Tony’s wane form slump over the arm rest.

The flashlight clatters to the ground, slipping out of Steve’s numb fingers. A cry rises up his throat but it’s too much too quickly and he chokes on it. Steve rushes forward, good sense forgotten because he has to see if Tony's okay. He touches Tony’s face, flinching at how cool he feels, mind panicking because he can’t be too late, he can’t be too late, Tony can’t be dead, it can’t be, say it isn’t so!

A sob cracks out between his ribs when he feels a muscle twitch under his fingertips. “Tony! Tony!” Steve realizes that’s _him _calling out the other man’s name. It’s been five years since they last saw each other. Steve’s imagined their reunion in many ways and all of them have been grand, in one way, shape, form, or another. But he’s never imagined any of them to be this… _awful. _

Tony’s on the verge of death. He’s skeletal in form. His eyes are heavy with tiredness when they crack open to peer wearily at Steve. He looks awful. This place is awful. Everything about this is _awful_. (And it’s all Steve’s fault. Because if he’d only gotten his head out of his self-righteous ass and told Tony the _truth _in time then they wouldn’t _be _in this mess in the first place, would they?) But then there’s recognition in Tony’s eyes. A spark of warm disbelief that makes Steve want to break down in grateful tears. 

“You came,” Tony rasps, sounding like he’s got sandpaper for vocal chords. Fuck. Water. He could probably use some water. Didn’t he have a pouch of that in his suit?

Fumbling with a pocket, Steve pulls out the small pouch of water. His hand shakes as he tries to stab the straw through the hole. He fails three times before getting it right. Meanwhile, he talks. “Of course I did. We got your signal. I don’t know how you did it but we got it and came running. It took us a while to prep the quinjet for space travel and to push her speed to maximum. Still took us too long. Here, drink.”

Tony’s lips have dried wounds on them. Slashes of red cutting through dried pale skin. Steve’s stomach twists in sympathetic agony when Tony takes a long sip but almost immediately starts coughing. “Easy, easy. Take your time. There’s no rush.”

He shouldn’t, he’s lost the privilege of it, but Steve runs his fingers through Tony’s hair, wanting to comfort him and to soothe his concerns. To get sensory proof that Tony’s alive. He’s obviously on the verge of starvation but he’s _alive_. Fuck. He should get Tony to the quinjet and back home. But that’s going to take too long. There’s got to be some way they can restart this ship and use it to get Tony back to the compound faster.

“Tony,” Steve says, heart aching at the easy, trusting way Tony turns to face him. “I’m going to make this right. I promise you. I’ll make this right.”

Tony blinks once, slow and easy. Steve’s heart races with worry, hoping, hoping, hoping that Tony will believe him. He doesn’t deserve it. He knows that Tony has all good reason _not _to trust him. But Steve silently asks for a second chance. An opportunity to earn Tony’s trust back. 

He holds his breath and waits.

Tony exhales through his nose and gives a small nod. Steve closes his eyes, breathing out a harsh relieved sigh before he takes hold of Tony’s hand and kisses it hard. _I won’t let you down again, _he swears as he taps the communicator in his ear. _I promise Tony. I swear it._


End file.
